As a hapkido stylist I understand that there are basic principles that are shared by it and aikido. In learning it as an aki art there are also distinct cultural differences that add it's own texture. One of these, I think, is that of "shuchu-ryoku" .

In my experience the teaching of shuchu-ryoku is not, at least in a concious way, a part of hapkido training. I would not say that "concentrating one's power" is not a part of training but the notion of that type of power is taught by generating power through circular movement itself.

While I understand the principle, can some aikidoka take a minute to explain how this teaching is explained in the dojo?

To be quite honest, none of my teachers ever got into that level of detail, much less what the term meant. (In fact, I had to look it up to understand what you were talking about).

For us (I mean our group, not aikidoka collectively), "focussed power" is intrinsic in the movements. The interesting thing about *how* we were taught is the way in which these things are "revealed" *when* you are ready. It reveals itself in the middle of the movement and it's as if a light goes on in your head.

Since it is intrinsic in the movement and the technique, there are points in the middle of the technique where you can *feel* that your body is in correct alignment, your posture is correct, your ma-ai is correct, your breathing is correct and your extension is correct etc. etc. There comes a point where all the elements of body, mind, spirit are in harmony, resulting in this "concentration of power".

And then you try to "find the feeling" again, only to find it eludes you, because your mind is no longer in harmony.

So, I would say, (at leat in our group), that generation of this power is not explicitly taught in the circularity of movement as such, but develops *naturally*, as a result of the unification of all of the necessary factors that result in the ultimate concentration of power.

i.e. one develops this focussed power naturally, as a result of one's progression and abilities through correct attitude in training (that of quiet introspection), feeling what your body is doing, feeling what uke is doing.

It's slower to progress this way, and harder to obtain instant results, but the skill and knowledge thus acquired, becomes permanently a part of you.

Hapkido arts in Korea do not really concentrate on Ki type stuff at all (OK - maybe one place does).

Anyway, to get to your point, certain schools of Aikido do things in certain ways to make themselves different to other Aikido schools. One area are the kokyu-ryoku excercises. Basically, you could take any part of any technique and concentrate on it - do it slowly, do it firmly, co-ordinate the breathing and so on. Then, you'll have your very own brand new excercise. The more you do it the more concentrated(shuchu) it becomes. It is actulaly a good idea to do this - the mistake is to use it to form the basis of a separate style. Just DIY it and you can learn a lot, and quickly too.

certain schools of Aikido do things in certain ways to make themselves different to other Aikido schools

I think it's more how each teacher is different when it comes to teaching, and what they choose to emphasize. Somehow that becomes interpreted as a stylistic issue, when fundamentally it's not. It's just a different emphasis from a different perspective.

Yes, different teachers often have their own quirks, myself included. But it is interesting how each style has their own particular set of kokyu related techs, is it not? My quirk is not to restrtict myself to my own style of Aikido - I look out, see what is there in other Aikido, and take what I like. It's all good stuff.

Rupert I took a minute to check out your website and bio. Thank you for taking the time to reply. Your observations about Korean culture and the teaching of "ki" is interesting. I have studied other arts where it (ki) is central to the system, which was the basis for the original post. I was just looking for other folks' experiences and observations. Thank you also for the training tips. I have been doing similar exercises for many years now and am just getting the hang of it.

Have you noticed that it's been very quiet here on the aikido forum since SenseiLou left, and more so after the upgrade?

Not trying to steal traffic away from here, but you might want to get a different perspective from others on AikiWeb. There are others like yourself who are not primarily aikidoka, but are drawn to the aiki arts for one reason or another.

Yes, Rupert has a very unique and interesting perspective having cross-trained in various "styles" of aikido, whereas some of us cross-train in entirely different systems altogether.